Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Raaaaaaain! We have finally been getting some rain here in California, and it is so wonderful!

We’re singing and dancing like Gene Kelly around here 🙂 I love drizzly winter days when it feels so cozy to be snuggled up inside, sipping a mug of tea while cookies bake in the oven… which leads me to…

2. I made a holiday version of my pumpkin-spice chocolate kiss cookies! I used the same chocolate cake-mix cookie base, and then instead of a pumpkin spice Hershey’s kiss I topped them each with a candy-cane Hershey’s kiss. The classic peppermint + chocolate combo is a winner, plus they look so darn cute!

3. While we’re on the subject of holiday treats, I picked up this black-and-white drizzle kettle corn as an impulse buy at Safeway, and it’s become my go-to dessert. For fellow sweet-and-salty lovers and chocoholics out there, this is right up your alley! I love that it’s made with non-GMO corn and has no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives; no high-fructose corn syrup; and zero cholesterol or trans fats. The grocery checker told me there is also a peanut butter & chocolate version that I am going to keep my eye out for.

4. This quote from Whitney at sometimes.always.never reflecting on the past year — I feel very similar to the way 2014 unfolded for me:

“It was a year of small, beautiful changes that probably don’t look like a ton to an outsider, but that meant a lot to me. It was a year of personal growth and risks, reflection and change. It was a year of countless little moments that added up to a whole year that turned out to be really beautiful.”

5. I brought back the chocolate advent calendar this year! Greg and I used to get these every year as kids and I have such fond memories of opening them together each morning before school. A couple weeks ago, I spotted chocolate advent calendars when I was at Trader Joe’s, and I grabbed one. {Actually, two — I got one for Allyn, too!}

It brings a smile to my face every morning to see what shape of Christmas chocolate I will get that day. Sometimes it’s the little things, right?

And that’s all for now. Have a delightful weekend, everyone!

Happy Friday, dear friends! I hope you have had a wonderful week and that your TGIF is running along smoothly. I must admit I don’t quite know where this morning went! Yoga class, breakfast, emails, a couple phone calls for work, and now it’s already lunch time! This afternoon I’m hoping to make some headway on a couple writing/editing projects; go to the Verizon store to get my new phone working {my old phone went on the fritz but was insured so I was able to replace it at no cost, woo hoo!}; and then I’ll be tutoring a few kids from late afternoon into the evening.

Should be a great day! Then again, as my Gramps likes to say with a wry smile, “Every day I’m above ground is a great day for me!” Which I think is a grateful attitude you don’t need to be an octogenarian to adopt. 🙂

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. The gorgeous autumn leaves setting the world on fire right now. Here’s the maple in our side yard, right outside the kitchen window. Every time I see it, my heart leaps. I love the autumn!

2. Tazo pumpkin spice chai tea. I scooped this up on sale at Target last week and I’ve been enjoying it every morning since. Nothing like pumpkiny, cinnamony goodness to get my day started off right! {Or perk me up in the middle of a long writing/work sesh!}

Also, this is probably just showing my nerdiness, but does anyone else amuse themselves by reading the writing on food/drink boxes? The story on the Tazo pumpkin spice chai tea box had me smiling: “Cinnamon and cardamom sit by a crackling clove fire, knitting elegant black-tea scarves. Ginger waltzes in with a just-baked pumpkin pie, and the room turns aromatic with sweet spice.” Mmmm. Don’t you just want to curl up and get cozy after reading those words?

3. Not to go TOO pumpkin-crazy {my brother would say, “Too late!” haha} but I was excited to find these pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses in the discounted Halloween candy section when I got my flu shot earlier this week. Has anyone else tried these babies? I had never even heard of them before, but I was intrigued so I got them.

I will say that, as a chocolate-lover, I wish there was some chocolate swirled throughout along with the pumpkin, but these are still a delicious {and dangerously poppable} treat! This weekend I’m planning to bake cookies featuring these pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses, inspired by my aunt Elaine’s peanut butter blossoms. If they turn out well, I’ll share the recipe!

4. I’m serving as Worship Associate at my church this Sunday, and the sermon’s theme is transience and permanence. While writing my Call to Worship, I came across this beautiful quote from Ovid’s Metamorphoses:

As wave is driven by wave
And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead,
So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows,
Always, forever and new. What was before
Is left behind; what never was is now;
And every passing moment is renewed.

5. This blog is featured on TheBetsy.com today — check out this article about Day-by-Day Masterpiece! Thanks to TheBetsy for their support!

Have a delightful weekend, everyone!

Questions of the day:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

Day-By-Day Masterpiece

Tag Archives: Hersey kisses

fabulous friday #41

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the day:

fabulous friday #40

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

As wave is driven by wave
And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead,
So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows,
Always, forever and new. What was before
Is left behind; what never was is now;
And every passing moment is renewed.

Questions of the day:

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the day:

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

As wave is driven by wave And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead, So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows, Always, forever and new. What was before Is left behind; what never was is now; And every passing moment is renewed.

Questions of the day:

As wave is driven by wave
And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead,
So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows,
Always, forever and new. What was before
Is left behind; what never was is now;
And every passing moment is renewed.